China: A French expedition's view of the Yangtse River flowing through a gorge to be navigated en route to Lao-oua-tan in Yunnan Province. Engraving by Louis Delaporte (1842-1925), 1868. This sketch by Louis Delaporte is one of dozens he drew during his two-year venture (1866-68) with the Mekong Exploration Commission sponsored by the French Ministry of the Navy, the intention of which was to lay the groundwork for the expansion of French colonies in Indochina. Traveling the Mekong by boat, the small French delegation voyaged from Saigon to Phnom Penh to Luang Prabang, then farther north.

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Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
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